The present invention relates to an apparatus for use in hospitals to transport patient's charts, slips, blood bottles, Ringer's solution bottles, and the like, or for use in post offices to transport postal matters and other things.
In a hospital, the patient's charts, various kinds of slips, and somewhat heavy articles (e.g., blood bottles, Ringer's solution bottles) are transported among a medical department and a consultation room. Two types of apparatus for transporting these articles are available at present. The first apparatus includes case conveyors for transporting patient's charts, air shooters for transporting slips, and vertical conveyors for transporting heavy articles. The second apparatus uses mobile vehicles of the same type, each for transporting patient's charts, slips and heavy articles.
In the first apparatus, patient's charts, slips and heavy articles can be transported at different speeds. However, the first apparatus occupies great floor space since it uses many and various transporting devices. The air shooter can readily covey patient's charts or the like, but can hardly convey the charts or the like and heavy articles together, in great numbers. The second apparatus is indeed efficient since it uses mobile vehicles of one kind, but the speed at which mobile vehicles can transport the articles is limited.